Historic Midland

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Above: The First Baptist Church at
2104 W. Louisiana is far and away
the largest church in this area.
PHOTO BY CURT WILCOTT,
MIDLAND REPORTER-TELEGRAM
Below: Randy Velarde signing a
baseball for a young fan. Velarde was
a high school baseball player in
Midland who went on to play
professional baseball, including several
seasons with the New York Yankees.
PHOTO BY TIM FISCHER,
MIDLAND REPORTER-TELEGRAM
Inside photos: Every year on the last
weekend in April, scores of volunteer
workers converged on the homes of
elderly or handicapped residents to
make repairs to them.
had been organized in 1953, gained international
acclaim, as did its two ensembles, the
Thouvenal String Quartet and Lone Star Brass
Quintet.
In 1978, Midland Community Theatre constructed
a new $2.2 million facility which gave
the theater outstanding production capability, as
well as teaching potential for aspiring young
actors and actresses.
The following year brought the start of construction
on a major convention center, Midland
Center, that provided space for conventions and
trade shows in the downtown district.
Professional baseball came to Midland in
1972, when Midland joined the Texas League
with the Midland Cubs, a farm league organization
of the Chicago Cubs. Later, the name of the
Midland team would be changed to the Midland
Angels when the team
became affiliated with
the California Angels
organization.
The following decade,
Randy Velarde, who
played high school
baseball for the Robert
E. Lee High School
team and went on to set
school records at
Lubbock Christian
College, was drafted in
the 19th round by the
62 ✦ HISTORIC MIDLAND